Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo M2 vs. M3 first impressions (CAGE MATCH !!)

I had a pair of M3s on 30 day trial, but unfortunately they did not like the little room they were put in. I also ordered them in a color that didn't go well with my decor (or compliment the shape of the M3s).
However, 2x6 and I compared them directly to my M60s and his smaller Michauras. The M3s fared very well - amazingly well for the size room in which we were listening. They're really good little speakers.
IMO, if you're getting M3s for a stand alone stereo system you should order them in a dark color to de-emphasize the steep angle at which the sides withdraw.
And, if you can afford it, do a high gloss finish. The little buggers deserve some nice clothes!

Like my women, I prefer my speakers... oh, never mind.

...wrapped in vinyl?

JK. I was much less concerned about my M60s durable finish than I am about my new S8's veneers. If something happens, I really, really hope the damage is not caused by a neighbor's child.

That reminds me of a recent kid episode. Steven has started to really get into music, and unfortunately, where the music is coming from. Hey, he's my son, right? Anyway, I walk into the living room the other day and he has his hands on an M22 speaker grille. Stupid me, I say with a raised voice, "Steven, don't touch!"

And guess what he does? He turns to look at me, and then starts rapidly swatting the speaker grille with both of his hands.

Little jerk.

BigWill, What didn't you like about the M3s in the small room? I'm moving closer to ordering a pair for myself. Just sent for a few color samples yesterday. I'm in a small room myself (10x10) and know that bass is tough to tame in my space. I use the foam plugs in the ports on the MAs and it controls the boominess, but seems to cut down on the impact of the bass. Was this the problem you had with M3s?

I had a pair of M3s, M50s and have a pair of M2s. IMO, the M3s were the best of that bunch. Wonderful speakers!! About as good as the Michaura M55s.

Well Thanks Man, sounds like that decision has been made.
TjB

Oh-Oh. Ah, such memories!! Why do you think I listened to some old crap Technics all those years.

>>I'm in a small room myself (10x10) and know that bass is tough to tame in my space.

I imagine a 10x10 room would be pretty good for M3s... you should get a nice big boost at 55 Hz which would fit in nicely with the bass roll-off. The 110 Hz mode wouldn't be so nice though... I guess putting the fronts 2-1/2 feet away from a side wall or back wall might tame that a bit.

I found the distance from the wall made a big difference with both M3 and M60, almost like a "bass control". M3s sounded a bit weak in the bass unless I had them ~12 inches from the wall, while M60s sounded boomy at that distance and had to be more like 18" away from the wall.

Again, this is in a wide room with no reinforcement from the side walls.

One other interesting thing I noticed last night...

I mentioned that the M3s seemed to emphasize certain low frequency instruments -- electric bass and bass synth lines both sounded "sharper" (more emphasis on the harmonics). I couldn't figure out how to rationalize this with the known response peak down around 100-120 Hz.

I don't have all the answers yet but here are some more observations :

- failing to adjust the levels when switching speakers made more difference in the "forwardness" than switching speakers itself, ie if I equalized volumes the M60 sounded more forward than M3, but if I did not turn the M3 down (M60 up) when switching the M3 actually sounded more forward than the M60. I guess that puts the difference in the "couple of dB" range at least in my room, which admittedly is an M3-friendly layout.

- when comparing M2 to M60 some months ago I concluded that either the M2 had a slight peak in the "female vocal range" or the M60 had a slight dip, based on a small but noticeable difference in how female vocals sounded even though the rest of the instruments were almost indistinguishable. After comparing M3/M60 I'm now starting to believe that (a) M2s have a very slight peak in the "female vocal range", (b) M3s have a similar peak in the "male vocal range", (c) M60s are the most neutral of the bunch or (equally likely) have their little peaks off at different frequencies which I haven't noticed yet

- the "peaks" I'm talking about sound like holding a small cardboard tube up to your ear, maybe a few inches in diameter and a couple of inches long. This is a bad example and the difference isn't so drastic as the tube would produce, but it's that kind of emphasis

Wish I knew more about doing this, but what the heck...

Over and out.

John